So is this okay?

[compton30]

https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/20-top-us-counties-turkey-hunting/493267

Better, worse, or equal to those scoundrels on YouTube who ruined everyone's WMA?

[Notsoyoungturk]

I certainly feel for the local hunters that have been enjoying turkey hunting in their area.  Later this year or next year, they will be overrun with new hunters. 

[joey46]

The only one I'm familiar with is in KY and it's been hammered for years. Hunted it off and on since1995.  It's definitely no big secret since through the magic of the most comprehensive telecheck  system in the country KY has no real secrets.  Florida's now published harvest data is entering that realm.  Good points and bad points depending on you opinion.

[Mallard1897]

Was talking to a farmer recently (in my relatively small state) and he says every year for the last several years he gets at least 2 or 3 requests from guys chasing their 49 state slam. Once one slammer gets in the cat is out of the bag.

Hopefully it doesn't go from county/WMA specific lists to "hey these landowners will give permission go here" kind of articles.

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[Yelpster]

i fully understand how name dropping a spot can affect the pressure on a given area. what blew my mind was when i purchased a book from a well known author, he gave the names to specific WMA and counties and states. not once have i seen anyone bash him about it. granted i did buy his book. but anyone can get that info and share it. maybe because he did not put it out on social media.

[Howie g]

I hate it . I've told several you tubers they are wrong for even mentioning states , more less counties , wmas or any public grounds ..

[Tom007]

I think they should come out with a list of the worst Turkey Hunting Areas in the country. They should use trending data ie; population/harvest drops etc. This might take pressure off these areas hopefully allowing the birds to rebound. Problem here is the article might take up several pages?

[Gooserbat]

I hate it . I've told several you tubers they are wrong for even mentioning states , more less counties , wmas or any public grounds ..

Anything more than a state is to much.

[Tommy Strutsalot]

Forgive me but I fall somewhere between thinking it's wise to name specific public tracts in success posts and thinking that the YouTube guys are scoundrels lol.  I've had some really annoying and even unsafe experiences on public land way before those guys were around or even YouTube was around for that matter. I'm not a public land guru I've mostly gotten my tail kicked everywhere I go, but it's fun, and ya gotta kinda embrace the circus.  The turkeys work around it - we can too.


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[tad1]

Plenty of turkey hunting content I absolutely love watching on YouTube, etc.  The flip side is that I'm disgusted with all the exposure, especially content creators being monetized while " ruining the resource" for everyone else.  Learning to turkey hunt for me was brutal.  Had a mentor who took me a time or 2, but he was not a turkey guy by any means.  I did a lot of reading, made tons of mistakes, and did watch a few of the old school videos, Eddie Salter, Will Primos, etc.  Heck, I guess those guys were making a living in the hunting industry promoting too. 
  Now, though it seems like a super shortcut to learning, watching high def GoPro full hunts, using mapping software,etc.
  I guess I wish turkey hunting wasn't  so dang cool....
    JT

[Tommy Strutsalot]

Plenty of turkey hunting content I absolutely love watching on YouTube, etc.  The flip side is that I'm disgusted with all the exposure, especially content creators being monetized while " ruining the resource" for everyone else.  Learning to turkey hunt for me was brutal.  Had a mentor who took me a time or 2, but he was not a turkey guy by any means.  I did a lot of reading, made tons of mistakes, and did watch a few of the old school videos, Eddie Salter, Will Primos, etc.  Heck, I guess those guys were making a living in the hunting industry promoting too. 
  Now, though it seems like a super shortcut to learning, watching high def GoPro full hunts, using mapping software,etc.
  I guess I wish turkey hunting wasn't  so dang cool....
    JT

Totally understand that. Sounds like we could probably commiserate over a very similar entry into Turkey hunting. Wouldn't trade it for the world, though.  That experience is what makes every single one that goes in the truck feel like winning the World Series to me.


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[deerhunt1988]

Very familiar with almost all the areas mentioned. And if someone takes the authors advice, they mag Very well wind up with a ticket (or even in jail) in one of those states. Lol.

There's also a couple of the most heavily pressured and unsafe WMAs in the entire nation listed. One that was ruined in the early 2010s by one of the more popular Tubers.

I really hope a bunch of folks don't do their research and take this list as gospel!